Procedure for a report
Processes sexual harassment
Processes for students and employees
Here you will find the process to follow in the event of an incident of sexual harassment for students as well as for employees of the University of Bern
Processes sexual harassment for students (PDF, 63KB) Processes sexual harassment for employees (PDF, 63KB)For students
Students may contact a University of Bern point of contact at any time following an incident of sexual harassment. Even if they are not sure if it is sexual harassment Contact can be made by email, on the phone, or at a face- to-face meeting.
The person concerned can also first contact a lecturer or another trusted person. Or they can contact one of the internal or external contact points.
- Office for Equal Opportunities (Claudia Willen)
- Head of Legal Services (Christoph Pappa)
- Head of Human Resources (Irene Strobel)
External contact: Universities of Bern Counselling Centre
The report is taken seriously by the contact persons and the person concerned is quickly invited to a meeting and asked to describe the incident. A record of the con- versation is kept. Any further steps will only be taken with the expressed consent of the person concerned. The person concerned will be informed about the further course of events.
If the person concerned does not make an official report, there is no further inquiry. The person concerned is entitled to counselling (Universities of Bern Counselling Centre).
Internal inquiry
If the person concerned decides to make an official report, the internal contact person involved makes further inquiries.
The person concerned does not have to be present at the hearing of the accused person. The interview is recorded. In the event of an admission by the accused person, appropriate measures will be taken against the person accused and the internal inquiries will be officially concluded. The sanction options are set out in the legal basis (german). The person concerned is personally notified of the conclusion of the internal inquiries. As a rule, the person concerned is informed about the measures taken.
Internal investigation
If harassment by the person accused is denied and there are very different perceptions, the investigating person will be involved, by the involved contact person or the person concerned. In case of bias, a substitute is sought.
Investigator
The investigating person investigates the case: talks to the persons involved, examination of the facts and evaluation of whether or not sexual harassment has occurred. The investigating person comes to a final evaluation and communicates it to the Executive Board of the University.
The person concerned and the accused person will be informed of the conclusion of the internal investigation.If, in the evaluation of the investigating person, sexual harassment has occurred, the person concerned will be informed of further possible steps (including filling a criminal complaint, see legal basis). The accused person will be granted the right to be heard with regard to the appropriate measures envisaged.If, in the evaluation of the investigating person, no sexual harassment has occurred, the Executive Board of the University may decide to take action against the person making the report on the grounds of false accusation.
Based on the proposal by the investigating person, the Executive Board of the University decides on appropriate measures to be taken against the accused person.
The Executive Board of the University communicates the decided measures to the accused person and enforces them.
The person concerned is informed that appropriate action has been taken against the accused person.
The General Secretariat checks whether the measures imposed are being complied with by the accused person. Especially in the case of measures that are imposed for a longer period of time.
For employees
Employees may contact a University of Bern point of contact at any time following an incident of sexual harassment. The person concerned can also first contact a supervisor or another trusted person. Even if they are not sure if it is sexual harassment Contact can be made by email, on the phone, or at a face- to-face meeting.
- Head of Human Resources (Irene Strobel)
- Office for Equal Opportunities (Claudia Willen)
- Head of Legal Services (Christoph Pappa)
External contact: Universities of Bern Counselling Centre
The report is taken seriously by the contact persons and the person concerned is quickly invited to a meeting and asked to describe the incident. A record of the conversation is kept. Any further steps will only be taken with the expressed consent of the person concerned.
If the person concerned does not make an official report, there is no further inquiry. The person con- cerned is entitled to counselling (Universities of Bern Counselling Centre).
Internal inquiry
If the person concerned decides to make an official report, the internal contact person involved makes further inquiries.
The person concerned does not have to be present at the hearing of the accused person. The interview is recorded. In the event of an admission by the accused person, appropriate measures will be taken against the person accused and the internal inquiries will be officially concluded. The sanction options are set out in the legal basis (german). The person concerned is personally notified of the conclusion of the internal inquiries. As a rule, the person concerned is informed about the measures taken.
Internal investigation
If harassment by the person accused is denied and there are very different perceptions, the investigating person will be involved, by the involved contact person or the person concerned. In case of bias, a substitute is sought.
Investigator
The investigating person investigates the case: talks to the persons involved, examination of the facts and evaluation of whether or not sexual harassment has occurred. The investigating person comes to a final evaluation and communicates it to the Executive Board of the University.
The person concerned and the accused person will be informed of the conclusion of the internal investigation. If, in the evaluation of the investigating person, sexual harassment has occurred, the person concerned will be informed of further possible steps (including filling a criminal complaint, see legal basis). The accused person will be granted the right to be heard with regard to the appropriate measures envisaged. If, in the evaluation of the investigating person, no sexual harassment has occurred, the Executive Board of the University may decide to take action against the person making the report on the grounds of false accusation.
The Executive Board of the University decides on appropriate measures to be taken against the accused person.
The Executive Board of the University communicates the decided measures to the accused person and enforces them.
The person concerned is informed that appropriate action has been taken against the accused person.
The General Secretariat checks whether the measures imposed are being complied with by the accused person. Especially in the case of measures that are imposed for a longer period of time.